Friday Fictioneers – Day’s End

Everything has shrunk. This single window is now my television on the world.

The nurses come and go like birds. I no longer know their names. They click and hum, or maybe that’s the machines. In the heat of the day, one opens the window. As the sun transits into the west, another closes it again.

The moon rises. Lights spark on, sprinkling the bay with glitter. I am quite content to die, but oh I’d like to see one just more sunrise over the docks. There might be a ship bound for distant ports.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

Yes, there is a kind of urgency in the last line for me; “There might be a ship bound for distant ports.”
He seems ti indicate he has a bit more in hime for adventure, you know one last go.
A sad beginning that, for me, ends with hope and acceptance.
Enjoyed reading.

You’ve written that beautifully, Neil. The use of the word television – “far sight” – is a nice touch. Your narrator longs for one more adventure, but doesn’t know the names of the nurses caring for him. I wonder if that is how it has always been for him; to crave the far horizon and neglect those who love him. Your story hides so much between the lines…

Fine snippet from the last reel of a film. I like how the ubiquitous hospital television–our window on the world–is replaced by an actual window, with fresh air and glittery light coming through, making his “coming home” a coming home to nature, as well.

I think “a ship bound for distant ports” sums this up so beautifully, achieving two things, the will for some adventure to take him away, and the knowledge that death too would take him bound to a distant port. Either way it’s a release from his current world of constant routine and stasis.

I was drawn into the scene and felt as if I were standing next to the character, who has gently accepted the rhythm of their final days, narrowing in on the simple yet profound details of life. Even to the end, he wishes for a little bit more. Very nice!

His nostalgic longing for another sunrise touched my heart with melancholy.
I imagine these thoughts must be on the minds of many who are in his position.
Such a beautiful write in just 100 words … a masterpiece.
Isadora 😎

I hope your narrator spies a ship for their soul to stow away on. You paint a wonderful image with ‘The nurses come and go like birds;’ all that flitting about and not necessarily taking much notice. This character has a life full of stories to tell I feel.